San Diego  A former San Diego Tea Party spokesman who is accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman last month on Fiesta Island pleaded not guilty Monday to felony charges.

Michael Kobulnicky, 50, was arrested Thursday afternoon as he was walking to his home in Lemon Grove, San Diego police said. He faces four charges including rape, kidnapping for rape, and rape by foreign object.

San Diego Superior Court Judge David Szumowski set Kobulnicky’s bail at $500,000.

Few details of the case were discussed in open court. Instead, the attorneys spoke with the judge for several minutes at sidebar.

Outside the courtroom, Deputy District Attorney Renee Palermo declined to discuss the facts of the case. However, she said she had asked the judge to set bail at $1 million because she believes the defendant is a danger to the community.

The judge ordered Kobulnicky not to have any contact with the alleged victim.

Kobulnicky, who struck a tall figure as he stood in the courtroom dressed in blue jail clothing, is in the process of retaining an attorney. Defense lawyer Heather Melone appeared with him Monday but she, too, said little about the case in open court.

Police have said that the 56-year-old victim had been walking home on Linda Vista Road near Tait Street about 7 p.m. Feb. 25 when a man drove up and offered her a ride in his car. She accepted, but the driver passed the woman’s residence and drove to Fiesta Island.

He then pulled her out of the car, pinned her down and assaulted her, before driving away, police said.

The woman identified a man believed to be her attacker in a surveillance video obtained from a convenience store, police said. Authorities released the video on March 2 and received several tips that led them to Kobulnicky.

Last week, the San Diego Tea Party’s leadership team said Kobulnicky took a hiatus from the group in January for personal reasons and had not been in touch with members since then.

His Facebook page revealed that he became engaged to an Arizona woman on March 12 and was to be married April 7.

According to court documents, Kobulnicky recently underwent divorce proceedings — starting in October 2010 — from a San Diego woman. In the documents, the wife claimed that Kobulnicky had been violent with her and threatened “bad things” if she tried to divorce him.

“I am scared of Michael and his temper,” she wrote. “He is a very large and intimidating presence.”

Kobulnicky disputed her contentions in his own court filings, calling the woman “delusional” and “devious.”

The wife requested a restraining order against Kobulnicky, which was granted in October 2010. She had requested a similar order two years earlier, shortly after the couple married, citing occasions when he allegedly punched a wall, pulled her by her hair and smashed her cellphone on the ground.

He threw boxes at her in a separate incident, she said, fracturing one of her fingers.

Later, the woman filed a declaration in 2008 stating that she no longer wanted the order. She said she believed Kobulnicky was experiencing side effects caused by Prednisone, which a doctor prescribed after the defendant had surgery.